Controller for electric vehicles.



6. w.- BULLQEY. CONTROLLER FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLES.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 11, I916.

Patented Aug. 27, 1918.

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1,277, 1 88. Patented Aug. 27, 1918.

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V UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE W. BULLEY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO MERCURY MANUFACTURING QOMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

CONTROLLER FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 27, 1918.

Application filed January 17, 1916. 7 Serial No. 72,419.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE WV. BULLEY, a citizen of the United States of America, and resident of Chicago, Cook county, Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvementin Controllers for Electric Vehicles, of which the following is a .specification.

- My invention consists in the features of novelty exemplified in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts herein'after described, shown in the accompanying drawings, and more particularly set forth in the appended claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a view, partly in section and partly broken away of an electric industrial tractor or'power pulling unit equipped with an improved controlling mechanism embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged longitudinal elevation of the current controller;

Fig. 3 is a view of the star wheel end of rod 13 which extends forward underneath the controller shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a view of the opposite end of the controller showing the automatic restoring and locking mechanism;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken substantially 0n the line 55 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a detail in horizontal section on the line 66 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 7 is a detail of the lost motion connection between the brake rod and the actu ating means therefor;

Fig. 8 is a detail of the guide plate for the controller lever, showing the forward reverse slots, and taken substantially on the line 88 of Fig. 2; an

Fig. 9 is a detail section on the line 99 of Fig. 2. v

The vehicle shown in Fig. l is a tractor of the type used more particularly for hauling or pulling loaded and unloaded trucks of merchandise along freight platforms, wharves, warehouses and the like, and is intended as representative of any type of vehicleto which my invention can be applied. This tractor A has a body or frame supported by two rear Wheels and a front wheel which is also arranged for steering purposes. This front wheel is mounted in a fork 1 which extends considerably above the floor of the tractor and carries at its upper end a lever 2 convenient for the operator. On the rearportion of the tractor frame is a housing 3 which incloses a suitable storage battery for supplying current to the driving motor 4: which in this case is suspended beneath. the tractor frame and is connected by suitable transmission mechanism to the rear axle 5 for driving the rear wheels. On the rear axle is a brake mecha nism which may be of any suitable or standard type for the purpose, and the brake mechanism whichIhave shown is intended as representative thereof. It comprisesabrake wheel 6 of suflicient diameter mounted on the axle 5, and embraced on its periphery by a brake or friction gripping band 7 adapted to be contracted against the periphery of the brake Wheel and apply a braking action thereto. One end 8 of this brake'is anchored on a transverse shaft 9 while the other end 10 is attached to the end of a short arm 11 on the shaft 9. The shaft and arm 11 are rotated to expand andvcontract the brake band by a longer arm 12 on the shaft, this arm being connected to a brake the frame to a foot treadle 14 by which the operator may actuate the brake at will. In Fig. 1 the brake is shown in its actuated or braking condition. In actual practice there are usually provided two brake wheels and. bands, one adjacent each rear wheel, and both being actuated by the common actuating rod '13 but a description of one of them is deemed suflicient.

On the frameof the tractor just forward of the battery housing is a seat for the op erator, which in this instance is a box-like inclosure structure B disposed transversely of the frame, and having a suitable cushion or seat board 20 for the operator. This seat 20, as shown in Fig. 5, extends substantially one-half the length ofthe struotureB and at one end 20 is hinged to the structure so that the seat will have slight vertical movement. The controller O for governing the current through the motor 4 is situated just beneath the top of the seat box and is se curely mounted on the frame of the boX, this top. portion being also formed as a hinged or removable cover which enables convenient access to be had to the controller. This controller has an operating lever 21 which swings in a vertical plane through an are. It projects up through a guide plate 22 formed as a part of the controller frame and into a convenient position for the operator. The guide plate 22 (see Fig. 8) is provided with two slots 23 and 2 1 which communicate with each other at their ends but which are offset or out of alinement with espect to each other, and one of these guide slots, in. this case the slot 23, permits the operating lever 21 to be thrown in one direction to govern the forward movement of the tractor, and the other slot 2 1 permits the lever to be thrown in the opposite direction to govern the reverse or backing up movement of the tractor, the normal or intermediate position of the lever being the neutral or off position thereof. At the neutral position; that is the point where the two slots 23 and 2 1 meet, the lever has room for sufficient lateral movement to bring it into alinement with either slot after which it may be moved longitudinally of the slot.

.. Normally it is arranged to stand in alinement with the forward slot and the operator need only move it directly along the slot. He cannot move the lever along the reverse slot without. first shifting it laterally into alinement therewith and this arrangement operates as a check against the operator 'making a mistake and throwing the leverin the wrong direction accidentally. Furthermore the ofiset relation of the slots prevents the operator from suddenly throw ing the controller 'into reverse directly from a forward 0 ahead position and vice versa thus serving as a protector for the motor and apparatus. The controller has a horizontally otary reciprocal shaft 25 which is actuated by the operating lever 21, the lever 21 being pivot-ally fastened at 26 (Fig. 2) by a bolt or screw to the shaft 25 to permit its relative lateral movement in cooperation with the guide plate as above described. The shaft is journaled in the triangula openwork castings 25 forming the end members of the controller frame. These end members are held rigidly in position by thelongitudinal frame bars 25 of the end castings. Mounted on and rotatable with the shaft 25 is a segmental drum or contact membe 27, this being carried by the end quadrant arms 28 keyed on the shaft. This drum member carries a number of contacts 29 corresponding to the several positions of the controller which determines the several speeds of the tractor both forward and reverse, and these contacts cooperate with the fixed brushes 30 carried by the frame of the controller. In order that the operator may determine when the controller is properly in any one of its positions I provide a star Wheel or notched member 31 at one end of the drum. In this struc-- ture the star wheel consists of a segmentshaped plate carried by the arm 32 on the collitr which is keyed on the controller sha't.

On the periphery of this plate is a plurality of teeth between which are the spaces Bet which in conjunction with a spring actuated finger 35 determine the positions of the controller. In this structure there are three notches 34. corresponding to three forward speeds and two corresponding to two reverse speeds, these being disposed on the opposite sides of the neutral or off-position notch 36. The finger is pivoted at 37 to the frame of the controller and carries a roller 37 at its end which is caused to yieldingly ride into and out of the star-wheel notches as the drum is rotated, the finger being acted on by a spring -10 connected to the finger. The tooth between the neutral and the first position in reverse is omitted as there is no necessity for it because the operator will know that when the finger roller engages the next tooth the controller has reached the first position reverse. The spring 10 is anchored to the arm 32 in such manne that it is placed under tension when the controller drum isrotated for reverse and unless the operator holds the controller in its reverse position, the spring 40 Will automatically estore it to normal or offposition. This is provided to make itim- 100 possible for the operator to leave the controller in any of its reverse positions. By connecting one end of thespring 4:0 to the finger and the other end to the arm I am enabled to use a single spring for both'pur- 105 poses.

A collar 50 is pmned on-the end of the shaft and is rotatable with the shaft. This collar has a shoulder 51 which cooperates with the corresponding shoulder 52 of another collar 53 carried by the shaft but rotatable on the shaft. This latter collar 58 has a projecting arm 51' which is pivotally connected at its end to a vertically reciprocable rod 55 in such manner that when the rod is reciprocated the collar 53 will be rotated and should the shoulder 51 of-collar 50 be in the path of the collar 53 the controller shaft will be rotated. A heavy spring 56 connected to the arm 54. and the frame of the controller (as shown clearly in Figs. 2 and 4;), constantly acts upon this arm 54L to rotate it. The parts are so proportioned and arranged that the spring actuated arm 5% and its collar 53 constantly act against the shoulder 51 of collar 50 to hold thecontroller shaft and the operating lever in their neutral or ofl-position and serve to lock the controller in such neutral or off-position; hence it is obvious that if the controller should be in an advanced position in the forward direction, the spring mechanism just described will automatically restore said controller drum and operating lever to their normal position. Further then to render the controller freely operable by the operator in the forward direction the shoulder 51 of collar 50 must be advanced or held away from the shoulder of collar 53 so as to provide a sufficient range of free movement for the operating lever and controller shaft. Thi I accomplish in an automatic manner through the medium of the seat upon which the operator sits while he is driving the vehicle. I have previously mentioned that the seat is hinged at its outer'end so that it will have some vertical movement. I extend the rod 55 above the controller frame in a position where the seat 20 will rest upon the end thereof (see Fig. 5.) Hence any depression of the seat as by the operator sitting thereon will depress the rod and consequently rotate the arm 54- and its collar 53 downwardly. This moves the shoulders 51 away from the shoulder 52 and releases the controller shaft and operating lever. Thus the operator having taken his position on the seat automatically unlocks the controller and leaves it free for operation throughout the range of its positions, but when he leaves his seat the controller will be automatically locked. Should he leave his seat without first returning the controller lever to normal position the controller lever and drum will be automatically restored in the act of his leaving his seat. It is evident that the structure which I have described is foolproof; the operator can not leave the controller in any but its off-position and the controller is locked against operation by others who are not authorized and who are not familiar with the necessity of occupying the seat to release the controller. Furthermore the operator by the reason of the guide plates 22, hereinbefore described, can not impulsively throw the controller into reverse position without first shifting the hand lever laterally, the necessity for which act will call his attention to the fact that he is operating the controller in the wrong direction. Again the controller can not remain in any of its reverse positions unless held therein by the operator, and the moment he removes his hand from the lever the controller will be automatically restored. The vertical actuating rod 55 is journaled in bearings on the controller frame and seat structure, as shown clearly inFigs. 2 and 1. This rod extends downwardly and is pivotally connected at its lower end to one arm 58 of a bell crank lever, this bell crank lever being pivoted at 59 to a suitable bracket on the frame of the machine. The other arm 60 of the bell crank is positioned in an elongated slot 61 in the brake rod 13 whereby it would have a. lost motion connection with said brake rod 13 which permits the brake rod and the brakes to be actuated by the foot treadle 14 independently of the seat actuated mechanism. The brake rod 13 is constantly acted upon by a spring 62, one end of which is connected to the vehicle and the other end to the rod in such manner as to maintain the brakes in a released or unapplied condition when the operator is occupying his seat and the rod 55 has been thereby depressed. Should the operator not be in position on his seat, however, the rod 55, as before mentioned, is raised and the arm 60 of'the bell crank lever will be maintained in'position to lock the brakes in their operated or applied condition and even render the brakes incapable of being operated by the foot treadle '14:. When the operator takes his seat, however, the rod 55 is depressed and the bell crank arm 60 moved to a position where it will not interfere with the operation of the brakes by the foot treadle. Should the operator attempt to leave the vehicle, either while it is standing still or while moving, without applying the brakes by the foot treadle, the brakes will be automatioally applied through the operation of the mechanism just described. In this structure I have shown a spring 65 on the rod 55 between a fixed collar 66 on said rod and the lower bearing thereof which spring supplements the action of the spring 56 in looking or restoring the controller and brake mechanism, but the use of this spring 65 is a matter of proportioning the parts to meet the particular conditions.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. The combination of a support, a controller mounted thereon and having a controller member rotatable in opposite directions from a neutral position, a hand lever fastened to said controller for actuating said controller member in either direction, means constantly acting on said controller member to restore it to its neutral position when moved in one direction, a springactuated arm loose on said member normally holding the controller member .against movement in the other direction, an operators seat, and means operated by the seat in response to the occupation of the seat by the operator for actuating said arm to release said controller member.

2. The combination of a controller having a shaft rotatable in opposite directions from a normal position, a lever mounted on said shaft for rotating it, a locking arm rotatable on said shaft, a spring acting on the arm to lock the shaft in its normal position, and an operators seat responsive to the weight of the operator for actuating said arm against the tension of the spring to release the shaft.

3. The combination of a controller, a shaft, a rotatable shaft meniber actuated by said shaft, a lever secured to the shaft for man ually actuating said shaft, an operators seat and anautomatic rBStOliIlgClBViCG comprising a collar on said shaft and a spring actuated arm operable When the operator leaves the seat to engage said collar and restore the controller to normal position.

l. Thecombination of an electric circuit controller having a shaft, a hand lever secured to said shaft for rotating the controller, a fixed member on said shaft, a relatively movable member on the shaft operable to engage said fixed member and rotate the shaft and controller to normal position, an arm on said movable member, an operators seat, means operable upon the occupation of the seat for operating said arm to disengage the movable member from the fixed member, and a springconstantly acting on said arm tending to engage the movable member with the fixed member. 1

5. The combination of a support, an elec tric controller mounted thereon and having a rotary operating shaft, a hand lever secured to the shaft for rotating'it, a fixed collar on said shaft having a shoulder, a rotatable collar on said shaft having a corre sponding shoulder, means constantly acting on said rotatable collar to engage the shoulders and rotate the shaft, an operators seat, and means responsive to the occupation thereof for separating said shoulder members.

Signed by me at Chicago, Illinois, this 8rd day of January, 1916.

GEORGE W. BULLEY.

Witnesses:

AMY JEHLE, E. H. CLEGG.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for-five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

